Sonnen has broken new ground in the electric battery storage market by creating what it claims is the first all-electric MDU apartment community.
A partnership between sonnen, the Wasatch Group and local utility company Rocky Mountain Power now provides a network of solar-powered battery storage systems, better known as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), fully managed by Rocky Mountain Power, for the greater good of the community and the electric system.
Prior to this project, all-electric dwellings were largely limited to individual residences and residence communities. By contrast, the Soleil Lofts apartment community in Herriman, Utah is a residential community that standardizes on-site energy storage in every unit.
The project features over 600 individual sonnen ecoLinx batteries, totaling 12.6 megawatt-hours of solar energy storage, provides emergency back-up power, daily management of peak energy use, and demand response for the overall management of the electric grid.
“As the developer of Soleil Lofts, we started with the firm belief we could build a community that was solving the Salt Lake Valley’s serious air quality issues today and in the future.
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“That belief led us to partner with Rocky Mountain Power, sonnen and Auric Energy for the development of an all-electric community utilizing solar and batteries,” says Dell Loy Hansen, CEO of the Wasatch Group.
Solar Energy Storage for All
According to sonnen, the solar industry should take note of solar energy storage systems managed by local utilities, since it helps create a clean energy grid.
“The combination of solar and long-lasting, safe, intelligent energy storage managed by the local utility is an essential component to the clean energy grid of the future. The solar industry should find inspiration in this extraordinary project, as it provides a blueprint for the future of grid optimized battery storage,” says Blake Richetta, chairman and CEO of sonnen Inc.
“Not only does Soleil Lofts all-electric community help improve air quality along the Wasatch Front in Utah, the project will create a platform for managing batteries for other customers we serve, as well. This partnership enables an innovative solution to provide low-cost utility services, not otherwise possible.
Residents will begin moving into the Soleil Lofts apartments in September 2019 and the final building will be completed in December of 2020. Upon completion, sonnen says the Soleil Lofts community will be the largest fully installed and operational residential battery demand response solution in the United States.
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